18 December: Matthew 1:18-25: Homily

(Please read the Scripture passages first, before the homily.)

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.”

In the course of their lives, Mary and Joseph met and eventually were engaged.  Somewhere in this process, Mary turned up pregnant without the intervention of Joseph.  Joseph, however, eventually decided to accept the child as his own.  This gave the child a place in society and the safety of a family.  This we can learn from our own observations.   How did this happen, you may ask.

That is another thing to answer.  Matthew explained that the conception was the work of the Holy Spirt, God, and that an angel explained this to Joseph.  The angel said that the Child would be a savior and would be God with us.  In all the jungles, deserts and experiences of human life, God is present.  The sign of Emmanuel is always somewhere in the complexities of our existence.

Where is God in COVID 19, in our political dramas, in our personal conflicts and in our sinfulness?  Like Joseph, we have to face the decisions we have to make.  Like Joseph, we have to look for the face of Emmanuel.

Matthew makes a point of telling us that Joseph had no relations with Mary that would cause her to conceive.  He therefore tells us that Mary remained a virgin despite her pregnancy.  In reflecting on this, the Church came to understand that Joseph would not have had relations with Mary after the conception and birth of the Child.  The Church therefore can affirm, rightly so, that the virginity of Mary continued even after the birth of the Child.  Matthew, however, does not explicitly say this.

It is possible in God’s power and wisdom that could arrange a conception without the intervention of a man.  God did create the human race without the aid of a woman or a man.  The God of creation is also the God who maintains and guides creation according to God’s own wisdom.

Where is God’s sign of Emmanuel in our lives?  How does God continue to sustain us in this world that God has initially created?  Joseph had to ask that question and seek an answer.  We have to ask and seek as Joseph did.  Joseph had to have great courage to decide to do what he understood that God wanted him to do.  Like Joseph, we need the courage to do what we understand God tells us we ought to do.  The Emmanuel sign, the sign of God’s presence to us, is with us for us to discern, to decide and to do.